


Airport Coffee

by redchemist



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-25 22:34:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12045684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redchemist/pseuds/redchemist
Summary: A horrendous blizzard following a USWNT friendly has planes delayed at the airport.  The CRS crew has holed up in a terminal until they get further information about their flight.  With time to burn and energy to kill, Julie asks Alyssa to get coffee with her.





	Airport Coffee

“Get coffee with me.” 

“Huh?” Alyssa looked up from her book, shock written on her face. She was right in the middle of a huge plot twist when Julie’s voice dragged her out of the world of fantasy and back to the airport terminal where they were waiting for a delayed flight back to Chicago.

“Come get coffee with me. We aren’t going to be out of here anytime soon and I could use a pick-me up.” The blonde pleaded, her big blue eyes shining despite the blizzard whirling outside.

“…Alright.” Alyssa figured the plot twist could wait a little longer – they still had a long flight home she could finish the book on. Plus, she liked spending time with her favorite defender turned midfielder turned destroyer of anyone who dared get in her way.

“Yay!” Julie literally bounced with happiness as the older woman slid her bookmark into place. She had tried numerous things to keep herself busy while they waited, but her phone was dying so she didn’t want to use it and she had finished the book she had brought for the trip. Christen was wrapped up in her phone texting Tobin and Casey was already napping. That had left the goalkeeper for Julie to turn to in order to help pass the time.

Julie’s obvious happiness drew a smile to Alyssa’s face after she stowed her book into her carryon. The older woman grabbed her bag and walked over to the forward.

“Hey Chris, will you watch this while I get coffee with Jules?”

“Yeah just throw it with my stuff.” Christen glanced up to make eye contact before being drawn back into her phone when it buzzed.

“Thanks Chris. Want me to bring you back anything?” Alyssa stowed her bag on top of Christen’s things.

“A bottle of water would be great. Thanks!” A grateful smile adorned the forward’s face. Alyssa returned it before going back to the bouncing blonde.

“Alright Jules let’s go scout out what kind of coffee this place has.”

“Absolutely.” Julie grinned again. She couldn’t help it. They had won their friendly and she had finally gotten to play. Now she was out to get coffee with one of her favorite women and they had time to kill – it was the closest thing to alone time she had managed to snag with the goalkeeper for a while.

Her grin was infectious, Alyssa couldn’t deny it. She found herself returning a smile to the blonde. Julie simply lit up the area around her with joy, wherever she was. It radiated from her, even dressed in her usual attire of sweats, a USWNT tank, and a beanie.

The pair wandered around the airport. Alyssa suspected Julie also needed to burn some energy. They weren’t used to being trapped for so long without a purpose. They wandered up and down the different terminals while looking at the various restaurants and shops set up throughout the airport. Neither said much, simply happy for the company and someone to help handle the fans when they got recognized. 

Alyssa was more than happy to take pictures for fans with Julie. She marveled at the younger woman’s ability to put even the most nervous fan at ease. The older woman watched Julie strike up a conversation with both younger and older fans, asking them about their thoughts on the most recent game. It usually took them a few moments to answer, but Julie never rushed them. Her grin never left her face and she was always willing to take as many photos or sign whatever they had handy. She was truly wonderful to watch with the fans. Alyssa did her best to mirror what Julie did, but in her own way. She was more soft-spoken with the fans, especially the older ones but encouraged them all to chase their dreams, no matter if they were related to soccer or not. The ones who had her jersey (Breakers, Red Stars, or USWNT) always made her give a rare smile. She knew she wasn’t as popular with the fans as Hope or Ashlyn, so seeing those who were in her corner brought her a spark a joy. Julie returned the favor and snapped the few pictures for those who requested them. The pair waved goodbye to a pair of college-age women who were returning home from a soccer tournament and continued on their quest to find some decent coffee.

“What about this place?” Alyssa gestured towards the coffee shop in the corner of the terminal. They had traversed the entire span of terminals and Julie refused to get coffee at the two Starbucks they had passed – she wanted something different if they had it. They had kept up their search and it had led them to the small, hole the wall café in the corner.

“Oooh that looks like a non-chain. Bomber Coffee. Let’s try it!” Julie grinned and grabbed Alyssa’s hand to tug her inside. The goalkeeper was glad Julie charged ahead so she didn’t see the blush on her face. She had harbored feelings for Julie for some time. The goalkeeper didn’t want to speak up though, as she wasn’t sure if Julie was flirting with her or if she was just being nice. Either way, she was going to enjoy this coffee and alone time with JJ if she could just get the redness of her face to go away.

Julie dragged Alyssa inside and the two were surrounded by the sweet aroma of coffee beans. Both inhaled deeply – the smell of coffee was sacred. When they caught each other, laughter bubbled from both of them. The women made their way to the counter and looked over the chalk menu hanging above the counter.

“It all looks so good…how am I supposed to choose just one?” Julie was torn.

“Well…why don’t we order two different things and share?” Alyssa suggested. “I really want to try to their cinnamon cappuccino.”

“That is brilliant! Ok if you want that I will try…hmm…” Julie stared at the board while Alyssa stared at Julie. Her blue orbs bounced from drink to drink as she attempted to make her decision. “I will try their caffè macchiato.”

The barista rings them up and Julie hands over her card before Alyssa can open her wallet. Julie holds up a hand to stop Alyssa’s protests before she can start.

“I asked you to get coffee with me. And we walked across the entire airport to find it. Let me treat you.”

“Well when you put it that way, I can’t argue.” Alyssa smiles at the blonde. Julie returns the grin before taking her card back from the barista and the two go find a table in a corner to wait for their drinks.

“This weather is the worst. I just want to get back to Chicago.” Julie sighed.

“That is the truth. The flight will be draining enough – I want to get back to my own bed.”

“You remember what that feels like?”

“Vaguely. It is big and soft and comfy when I burrow under the covers.” Alyssa raised her eyebrows when Julie snickered. “What?”

“I just didn’t see you as a burrower kind of person miss I am from Connecticut where we are born cold and I refuse to wear pants when training in the freakin’ snow unless the trainers force me.” Julie leveled her gaze at the goalkeeper.

“I do not burrow because I am cold.” Alyssa retorted with a snort. “I burrow because it is comfortable and cozy when I am holed up watching Netflix because I can’t sleep.”

“Uh huh. You keep your apartment at like 50 degrees all year. You get cold.”

“I do not, I keep my condo at 62 thank you and I like the chilliness. It reminds me of home.”

“Ok. That is still cold. And you wonder why I always wear sweats and a hoodie when you host Game of Thrones watchnight.” Alyssa rolled her eyes at Julie’s comment

“That may be true of the hoodie, but you rock the sweats because you just want to be comfy and couldn’t care less what you are wearing.”

“Ok that one is true.” Julie laughed when Alyssa called her out. She did value comfort above everything else. Why should she try to shove herself into jeans or other tight clothing when she could just rock some sweats and a t-shirt?

The barista brought out their coffee. They both thanked her and inhaled the sweet scent before taking a sip.

“Oh, that is delicious.” Alyssa wiped her mouth with her sleeve after she set her cup back down. “The cinnamon adds a nice richness to it.”

“This tastes like heaven. Pure heaven.” Julie lowered her cup down gently so not to spill the hot liquid.

The pair sip on their coffee and chat about the latest plot twist on Game of Thrones. Alyssa makes it a point to call Julie Khaleesi, which makes Julie turn pink. Alyssa makes sure to file that information away for later. It could come in handy. They also trade cups so that they can try the other’s coffee. Both women decide both drinks are good and that you couldn’t rank one over the other.Before they left, Alyssa made sure to pick Christen up a bottle of Fiji water.

“This was definitely worth trekking across the airport for Julie.” Alyssa nudged the blonde’s hip as they wandered back towards Christen and their bags to await their plane. “Excellent choice.”

“Lys, spending time with you is always worth a trek.” Julie giggled and nudged the goalkeeper’s hip right back. “If you wanted me to take you on a date, all you had to do was say so.”

“Wait what? You…you knew? How long?” The older woman couldn’t keep the dumbfounded look from her face as she stopped right in the middle of the airport. She thought she had hidden her crush well. Apparently, her ninja skills needed work in that particular area.

“I overheard you talking to Chris about it a couple of weeks ago.” Julie confessed as she turned back around to look at the goalkeeper. “You might want to shut your mouth or you are going to catch flies.” Alyssa’s jaw snapped shut and she shook her head in disbelief.

“I was going to talk to you about it when we got back, but then our plane got delayed from the massive amounts of snow falling from the sky. I didn’t want to lose my nerve and we have no idea how long we are going to be holed up here until the storm lets up.”

“So, you asked me out for coffee.” Alyssa’s face broke into a shy grin. “You took me on a date without me knowing.”

“Well…yeah. And it was really nice Lys. I don’t want to say too much, but there is something there and I want to explore it further with you, if you still want to.” Though it seemed impossible, Julie talked even faster when she was nervous. It took the goalkeeper a moment to determine what exactly the blonde said.

“That would be nice JJ. Maybe we take in some Chicago sights.” Both women smiled and started walking again.

“That sounds great. Did you hear that the Field Museum is getting a new dinosaur exhibit?”

“Oh, that would be fun to check out. We could go to Adler Planetarium and the Shedd. Make a day of it.” Alyssa was already starting to plan it for their next free day, whenever that might be.

“That would be perfect!” Julie nudged Alyssa again. 

The grin didn’t leave the women’s faces for the rest of their walk. Perhaps being trapped in an airport during a horrendous, perhaps storm of the year blizzard wasn’t the worst thing that could happen after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Game day! I mean yeah we didn't win but we also didn't lose so I will take it. As a reward, here is this little fic. Here is to hoping that Jill doesn't break any of the 6 CRS players during the international friendly.  
> So, I got this idea and decided to see where it would go after the STH for CRS. They are all absolute sweethearts and took the time to talk to us all. Alyssa did call Julie Khaleesi, so I had to sneak it in. Anyway, let me know if you love it, hate it, or anything in-between.  
> -Red


End file.
